🍅 Quick take: Serendipity is an indeterminate, large bicolor beefsteak that routinely churns out monster slicers from 14 to 28 oz (400-800 g). Gardeners across harsh short-summer climates (Siberia and Urals) note it can be a slow starter with wispy early foliage, but once it gets going, it loads up late in the season with intensely sweet, low-acid fruit that holds firm on the vine without going mushy. Full summary ↓
Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 2-6 Experience)
Seeds were from Kulik. As a seedling, the plant was pretty scrawny and wispy, but after transplanting into its permanent spot in the greenhouse, it gained strength. It was almost a prime candidate for “yank it and forget it,” but midway through the season it finally started setting fruit. Yield was still on the lower side, but what came out was a delicious bicolor. ZERO ACID. Medium foliage cover, pruned it to two stems.
It took a lot of time to get rolling in my conditions. But toward the tail end of the season, it really surprised me, setting a TON of huge tomatoes right up under the greenhouse roof. As of today, this is my biggest tomato of the entire season at 28 oz (800 g):
Edited November 28, 2017 by Drosera
It took a lot of time to get rolling in my conditions. But toward the tail end of the season, it really surprised me, setting a TON of huge tomatoes right up under the greenhouse roof. As of today, this is my biggest tomato of the entire season at 28 oz (800 g):
Edited November 28, 2017 by Drosera
For me, this was one of the highest yielders, huge-fruited, flavorful, and sweet! This one here was my biggest.
Does this go by any other name?
Semechka said:
Seeds were from Kulik.
I am not talking about the variety itself! I am talking about what happens when we upload pictures to third-party image hosts! We end up with broken, missing photos 🙁, even though this is supposed to be a tomato photo catalog 🙁🙁🙁. Bottom line: please upload variety pictures directly into our local forum albums! 🙏
Edited December 20, 2016 by Drosera
I will look for more pictures at home, but for now here is this one (this one is safely stored in the forum album):
High yielder, great flavor, average fruit weight ran 14-21 oz (400-600 g). Took quite a while to get rolling, but through August and September it set fruit, grew, and ripened like clockwork. What I really appreciated is that it can hang on the vine without going soft or turning to mush. Solid variety.
Seeds were from Vitaly nimoff. Out of 19 bicolors I grew this season, this was easily one of the sweetest, even though I ended up harvesting all of them dead green. All fruits turned out huge, vine stayed totally healthy. Definitely coming back for a repeat grow and seed gifts for fellow members.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage
- 🌿 Plant: Indeterminate, mid-to-late season bicolor beefsteak. Seedlings can display thinner, wispy foliage that looks deceptive early on, but vines become sturdy once established in greenhouse beds. Best managed when trained to one or two main leaders.
- 📈 Yield: Starts off slow, then finishes with immense production. Multiple growers in short-season regions (Krasnoyarsk, Omsk, Urals) noted it took weeks to start setting, but loaded heavily in late summer right up under the rafters, yielding massive fruit consistently between 14 and 28 oz (400-800 g).
- 👅 Taste: Remarkably sweet with virtually no sharp acidity. Rated by Shevyachok as one of the sweetest out of 19 tested bicolors, even retaining noticeable sugar levels when picked green and finished indoors.
- 📦 Storage: Exceptionally good vine hold for a giant bicolor slicer. Growers specifically noted ripe fruit stays firm on the vine without rapidly softening or cracking.
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: Seasoned growers ranging from USDA Zone 2/3 in Western Siberia to Zone 4 in Central Russia and Zone 6 in Belarus.
